LarryBoy and the Tech Whisperer
by Patch-insertnumbershere
Summary: LarryBoy's still new to this whole "superhero" business and after being ambushed by a rapscallion, he is rudely reminded of that, but soon gets to meet somebody named Alfred who helps him out with his predicament. After this event, things get strange as constant power outages and hacks of crucial computers are on the rise. Will LarryBoy be able to stop this before Christmas?
1. A Day in Bumblyburg

I never would've thought I would be writing a multi-chapter fanfiction for VeggieTales, but here I am anyway. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

It wasn't hard to tell that winter was afoot in Bumblyburg, for it was made clear by the crisp, cooling air, and how the leaves were turning brown with each passing week which went onward. Although merely one in the afternoon, the sky was grey thanks to the blanket of clouds sprawled out - this was perfect weather for anybody who enjoyed the change of scenery and, well, cooler air. Overall, the mood of Bumblyburg and its citizens was relaxed and laid back. A step up with enjoying this weather was to recline at a cafe with a big cup of hot chocolate and whipping cream in hand. Perhaps there were souls out there doing that...

"It's so dark out there," he commented with a yawn, "it makes me want to go back to sleep…"

Junior tilted his head at him from across the table. "Larry, it's only one…"

"Still makes me wanna do that...sorta." Larry took a sip of his hot chocolate once he was done talking, the whipped cream pressing up against his mouth in the process. He paused and then looked to Junior. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be in school?"

The child blinked. "We got the day off."

"Oh? What's the occasion?"  
"Thanksgiving break."

"Ah." _Sip_.

"Say Larry," Junior asked, "you wanna come over to our house for Thanksgiving?"

He quirked a brow. "Your parents are okay with that?"

"Of course! You've been a part of our family for years!"  
"Well, I guess I could."

"Cool! I'll let them know when I get home." Junior was about to begin drinking away at his hot chocolate as well when, suddenly, something caught his attention out the window. With the cup inches away from his mouth, his eyes followed a figure dashing out of a store. "What the…?"

Larry turned his head to see what his little buddy was watching and immediately saw the store owner run out, shouting incoherently. Only words he could make out were "get back here, thief". One half of his mouth made a straight line.

"Whoa," Junior said, "poor guy-"

"Be right back Junior."

He turned his attention back to Larry just in time to see him rise from his seat. "Where are you going-?"

Larry beamed a small smile, replying, "Bathroom." He motioned his head to his empty cup while shaking it upside down. "Gonna get another hot chocolate too...maybe a gingerbread man on the side."

The asparagus kid blinked. "Uh-"

And off Larry went, straight to the bathroom.

"...okay."

* * *

Huffing and puffing and a tad dizzy from running with all of that lot, the short scallion fell back against the brick wall behind him while making certain he wouldn't be seen in the alleyway. For a few more seconds, he huffed, though much quiet and slower as he moved the sack from his side to the front of him, a smile crept to his face. Never would he have thought he would've been capable of snatching some fresh jewelries like his comrades, but here he was!

Is it strange that he felt his mouth was watering upon opening the bag and just _seeing_ the shimmering pieces stare back at him?

...yeah, it was.

Perhaps it was because of how much money this heavy-as-heck bag of shining minerals might have cost. Yeah, that was it.

He sighed in relief, shutting his eyes for a moment. "Thought I would've been caught by that old buzzard. Guess not…" He opened his eyes. "They're gonna be _so_ jealous of me when I come back with this...!"

He looked behind the garbage dumpster he stood beside in order to retrieve the duffle bag he had hiding. Sure, this was the first time he stole a load in this amount, but he darn well knew he needed to hide the goods as well as possible, so...into the gym bag it went. Off went the flimsy mask he wore around the eyes and black sweater - both of them accompanying the jewelry.

Once he was satisfied with how he hid his dirty deed from sight, the scallion lifted the bag with a grunt and began to exit the alleyway. It had been long enough, so he didn't expect anybody to still be searching for him. He puffed proudly with a smile. Nailed it.

" _So_...what'cha got there?"

...on second thought, he did _not_ nail it.

He sucked in a breath before spinning around to face the one who spoke to him just now.

"Oh, uh...this?" He lifted the duffle bag with a half-smile, obviously trying to not show how nervous he was getting. "Just my gym clothes. I got too sweaty to wait until I got home to change out of them, s-so I...changed down here."

" _Very likely story_ ," was the sarcastic reply he got.

Now that he thought about it, that was a flawed excuse.

Instead of attempting to give a much better story, he blurted out, "I'm not going back to jail!" He turned and began to run away from the costumed vigilante.

He could've sworn he heard an annoyed sigh, he wasn't certain. What he was certain about was catching the sound of an oh-so-familiar click, followed by a whizz.

Oh no. No no no no no no no-

"AAGH!" He cried upon being caught mid-run by something from behind. It, attached to his back, started to yank and drag him back into the alleyway. "Aw come on, no fair! This was gonna be my big break from the others! Show some compassion, will ya!?"

"No can do, you stole something."  
"Ugh…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Junior, from his seat, watched on as the Scottish officer forced the peeved thief into the back of his car whilst the jewelry store owner was excitedly speaking to _the_ LarryBoy who caught the thief in the first place. Wow, he really _was_ everywhere, wasn't he.

He took another gulp of hot chocolate as the hero, using one of the devices on the side of his head, launched himself to a building out of view. "He's so cool…"

 ** _BANG._** "Oof! Aagh!"

 ** _DOOF_**.

Junior's eyebrows quirked in question upon hearing strange sounds coming from the men's restroom. Others within the cafe were also glancing over to the public bathroom, wondering what the heck that noise was about. What kind of sound effect was "doof" anyway?

Junior shrugged. Oh well. Maybe somebody slipped in the bathroom? Hope they were okay…

He went back to the last of his warm drink just as he heard someone approaching the table, panting. His eyes looked, and there was Larry with a sheepish grin. "There you are! You were gone for a long time…"

"Sorry it took so long. There was a line in there."  
"That's okay. You missed LarryBoy though."  
"LarryBoy? He was here?"

"Yeah!" Junior eagerly nodded in response. "He was swinging by, caught the bad guy somewhere down the street, and then he brought him back with the stuff he took!"

He frowned. "Whoa, I _did_ miss a lot. Too bad I missed it, huh?"

"Don't worry," he assured him, "there's always next time. He's been having to pop out a lot more lately since it's near the holiday season 'n' all."

Larry's mind instantly echoed, ' _Don't I know it_.' He was about to plop himself back into his seat, but remembered that he was supposed to be getting another hot coco and perhaps a gingerbread man to accompany it. "Oh shoot, my drink. Completely forgot about it-"

"I'll get it." Junior arose from his seat. "I was going to get another too. Be right back!"

" 'K! Thanks buddy."

Larry made himself sit down, sighing in relief. Why did he have to crash into the bathroom floor like that while he tried slipping himself through that darn window? How clumsy! He wasn't supposed to be clumsy _in uniform_! He would kick himself later, but then he realized that - at least - this didn't happen while he tried going after somebody. Because of that upside to that moment, he relaxed, smiling. When his eyes trailed towards the store across the street, what the place's owner had given him came to mind. From his sweater pocket, he pulled it out.

Gosh, what a nice red gemstone…

"What'd he say it was called again?" He tilted his one head, holding the shining piece up to one of the fluorescent lights above. "Wasn't it something like 'beryl'?" Larry pulled it back to himself and then carefully placed the stone in his warm pocket. "Pretty nice of the guy to do that."

"What guy?" Junior approached the table, holding two drinks.

Shoot. His eyes darted back and forth from Junior and to the window. Hurry! Think of an answer!

"...Santa Claus."

Good one.

Junior blinked, brows scrunching together. "But it's nowhere near Christmas-"

"Ooh, look at the time! I forgot that they're playing an ' _Alf_ ' marathon for Thanksgiving, so I should _really_ get going now, Junior-How much do I owe ya for the drink-Here y' go-Thanks again-Let's catch up tomorrow at the park-they have those hayrides going on- _Bye!_ "

Within a few seconds, Larry had carefully take his drink from Junior's grasp, say all of that without taking a breath, and dashed out of the cafe.

"Oookay? That was an overreaction..."

* * *

One trip via bus thirty minutes later…

"Honey," Larry called out upon opening the door to his mansion, flipping on the switch to his right on the wall, "I'm home!" He paused. "Oh right, I'm not married. I'm the only one who lives here too."

He got himself cleaned up with the help of a nice, hot shower to relax his body and then bounded to the living room in order to turn his old television on. "Alf" was playing, just like he had told Junior earlier. As the start of a new episode began, he went to the kitchen to whip up something nice for a late lunch.

Now, one of the things he was not was a cook, not even one who could put something in the microwave without half of the food still being frozen no matter how long he left the darn thing in there. With that thought in Larry's head while he dug through his refrigerator, he wondered if he should just order himself a large pizza. It could be lunch _and_ dinner…

...then again, there was also the fear that the pizza delivery person might eat it by the time they reached his house. It happened once, it could happen again.

"Hmm…"

...well, there was always the Chinese delivery place a bit away?

So here he was, someone who could easily order rather expensive foods without worry, chowing down on boxes and boxes of noodles, teriyaki chicken, beef, and pork while plopped on the couch and watching 80s sitcoms. This would've been hard for the citizens of Bumblyburg to take in, knowing that this is what their town hero did on his off days...but what else was there to do?

He shrugged.

Besides, when he wasn't relaxing, he was out and about, doing superhero-ish stuff until it was time to take action upon something which needed it.

His eyes went to the pretty red gemstone on the coffee table where it happily sat upon a tiny pillow for comfort. Gosh, that was nice of the owner to give that to him; although, he honestly didn't know what to do with the thing or where to put it.

Suddenly, a suggestion came to him, causing him to perk up in his seat, "Oh, my dresser! Perfect." Well, that took care of that.

After accidentally opening the box with the fortune cookies and mints instead of the beef, he decided to go ahead and munch one of the cookies. They were good anyway.

 ** _Crack._**

While shoving the crunchy treat into his mouth, his eyes followed the small slip of paper land upon the table. Larry picked up the fortune note and then, as soon as he swallowed, read it out loud: " _You are one of a kind - so full of kindness, thoughtfulness, and compassion_." He smiled from amusement. "Well thanks!"

 _Man_ , these things are great.

* * *

 _ **8:58 PM**_

* * *

"I didn't steal anything!"  
"Aye aye, that's what you said the _last_ time you were brought here."  
" 'Innocent until proven guilty _'_!"

Officer Scooter huffed at that line being thrown at his head. "I'm aware of that! I'm pretty certain you're guilty, knowing you and yer pals."

The thief grumbled to himself as he sat back down on the cell's cot. He couldn't wait to hear the end of it from the others whenever he was let out. Honestly, if the 'burg was _that done_ with him and his antics, why didn't they simply toss him into prison? This place was too nice for its own good sometimes…

"At least it won't take me forever to fill out the paperwork," the officer said out loud, "we've gotten a few newer computers to help us out with _that_ chore while we keep an eye on you fellows."

"Oh _goodie_."  
"Of course, you and your friends have some of the biggest files saved _on there_."

He beamed a smug grin to the carrot with raised brows. "Ain't that something! It's like you guys fail to keep us around! If you didn't have that LarryBoy, you'd probably never get us!"

"..."  
"...I'm right, aren't I?"  
"Well, your friends anyway. You...we could still catch on our own since you're not as sneaky."  
"You-!"

" _Anyway_ ," Officer Scooter said as he began to head out of the room, "good luck trying to break out of there, laddie! We've upgraded our cells with the _latest_ technology. There's no way you'll be departin' sooner than expected!"

And then all the lights died, followed by the humming being produced by the machines practically maintaining everything now-including the cell doors.

" _HEY_! Seriously?!" Great, the dark! How Scooter hated it since he was a wee one! And what's worse is that, through said darkness, he could tell all the blokes in the cells were now trying to sneak out without him noticing. Well, that should be simple thanks to the dark being their best bud! "H-hey! All of you, stop where ye are! I'm warning you!" He could hear the other officers yelling similar things wherever they were; in addition to that, other voices were rising in volume, which scared him even more. What was happening!?

"Hey," a voice whispered behind him, "guess what? I'm gettin' out of here 'sooner than expected'."

The last thing the officer knew, he was struck across the face and was knocked out cold.

* * *

Right as the end credits rolled, it was abruptly interrupted by a breaking news bulletin. On top of this, before Larry could hear what the breaking news was, his emergency phone rang. He quickly got off the couch, darted over to the end table which held the sleek black phone and then answered it.

"Mayor Blueberry? What's going on?"

The French woman's voice hurriedly replied, "It's the power at the jail - it's completely shut off! All of the detainees took the chance to escape and now they're out there!"

Without missing a beat, "How many of them are there?"

There was a pause, possibly her getting info on that inquiry. "Seven. Although there is a chance our police force can round them up by themselves, it wouldn't hurt to have someone as speedy as you helping out. Can you do it, LarryBoy?"

Determined, he answered with a firm, "Yes, ma'am."

"We've informed all the citizens to stay indoors while the search is in process, so it should be easier to spot the runaways. Do be careful if you approach them! An officer of ours at the station was struck by them.."  
"I'm on it."

 ** _Clang_**. He hung up the phone with an inhale of breath.

" _Okay_ ," he said to himself as he buckled the belt around his waist, "seven baddies are out and about in town, and they could be a danger to the citizens." Larry grabbed his mask. "Not on my watch."

The call was made almost two minutes ago, so he had to hurry.

"At times like these, I wish I had a car though…" Larry grumbled. "Aah well, no time to moan about it now." He watched himself through his bedroom mirror as he pulled the mask on. "The town needs a hero to round up these bad guys, and _I'm that hero_."

* * *

Junior was sitting in the living room with his nervous parents while they watched the breaking news on the television. This was pretty scary...reminded him of the movies he and Laura may or may not have watched on accident around Halloween nonetheless. Heck, this reminded him of the comic books he read. Bad guys escape jail because the cells break down on their own until the heroes toss them back in.

...hmm…

Curiously, the asparagus wandered over to the window and peered out, wondering if _he_ would go by. A gasp escaped him as his thought came true. "There he goes!"

 _LarryBoy_ , using the silly contraption on both sides of his head, went by, launching and swinging himself further into town. Amazing how he didn't get a headache or hurt himself in some other manner while doing that, but hey...some folks aren't able to feel pain, so perchance he was one of them.

* * *

Where were they?

He frowned as he landed on the roof of a restaurant for a moment to catch his breath. For the past fifteen minutes, he didn't catch a single bad guy in sight. Well, the mayor mentioned that there was a chance in which the police force captured them already. Better check.

He reached to his utility belt and pulled out his pocket communicator. As soon as he pressed it on, he spoke, "Mayor? Did your team get them all?"

There was talking on the other end, though faint, but then Mayor Blueberry finally responded, "We're still missing one."

"Dangerous?"  
"He's the one who attacked one of our officers."  
"So he _is_ dangerous?"  
Sigh. "... _yes_ , LarryBoy."

"Tell me what he looks like."

His eyes continued to scan the area nonstop as he listened on to the woman's words.

"Funny thing about him...he's the short scallion that you caught just eight hours ago. Do you remember him?"  
He raised a brow. " _Him_? Didn't seem like the dangerous kind since I've handled him before...but if you say so. I'll get 'im, Mayor. See you soon."

He ended the conversation.

And now, back to business with a clear objective.

"Too bad there's no lead on where he could be though…"

With one last look at the surrounding below, he shot his unusual choice of transportation and began to swing once more to find the baddie running amok.

"Let's see, if I were a bad guy who messed up on a robbery," he tried evaluating where he could be, "where would I go after escaping jail…?" LarryBoy paused when an idea struck him. Could he really be around there? "Maybe he wants a do-over from today. Could get some nice hot coco after all this is done, too."

* * *

LarryBoy landed on the rooftop of the cafe ever-so-gently thanks to the slightly taller establishment beside it. He had to crouch, to be certain he wasn't spotted somehow. Carefully, he approached the edge of the roof and peered over.

He whispered, "There he is…!"

That rapscallion was sneaking up to the store with brick in hand!

He stood up straight, saying, "Second attempted robbery _and_ destruction of property? Not while _this_ hero's around!"

His heart pounded faster while creeping towards the store he tried hitting before, the brick in his hold being tossed up and down for preparation. ' _Screwed up the first time_ ,' the scallion thought as he smirked at his reflection in the store window, ' _but there won't be any REPEATS!_ '

And as soon as he threw the brick back in order to shatter the glass-

" _So_ , we meet again!"

' _Shoot!_ ' The scallion spun around and saw that darn LarryBoy a few feet behind him. "L-LarryBoy!"

"Put down the brick and step away from the store."  
"Why should I!?"

He raised a brow, replying, "Probably since it's not right to steal, buddy. Now put the brick down."

When the scallion still refused to drop the weapon, LarryBoy used one of the plungers on his head to yoink the thing away from him, earning a feeble glare from the thief. As he took a step forward, the scallion took one back - this happened three times, but while he took one more step, he could tell the thief was now cornered, his back touching against the store. He had nowhere to run-

He made a mad dash to the right, and LarryBoy immediately followed him. Of _course_ , why wouldn't he!

"Get back here!"  
"Never!"

Down the empty sidewalk they went, passing by the various shops and apartments as they did so. Dang, this guy was giving him quite an abundance of trouble in one day, wasn't he. LarryBoy didn't believe this scallion had the stamina to run so fast, but here he was, practically outrunning him with ease! If he couldn't capture him with his own force, he'd have to resort with his plunger buddies.

LarryBoy tossed his head in order to discard the brick and then used the same plunger to shoot at the rapscallion ahead. Knowing darn well he'd do that, the scallion thief looked over himself and quickly dodged the strange weapon of choice. LarryBoy reeled the plunger back in response and tried his luck again. Boy, how he wished he had powers right about now. Flying after him would've been quicker than this…

Wait, he was slowing down! Now was his chance!

"Incoming!"

LarryBoy blinked. "Whuh-?" Who said that? Certainly wasn't the scallion in front of him-

Suddenly, his eyes and lung were filled with a strange smoke, and he cried out loud from the impact it left upon him. LarryBoy could hardly keep his stinging, watering eyes open as he felt himself stop in his tracks. His body was beginning to suffer a similar sensation of prickles digging deep into him. What was going on!? He grunted, falling to his knees.

...w-wait...do these guys have knees? Don't ask me. Anyway…

He could hear the scallion thief stop running and slowly approach his form with a light, out of breath, laugh. "What's wrong man? Smoke in your eyes?"

The unknown voice from earlier spoke up again, this time it was closer, "Come on, let's get outta here. Boss is waiting." LarryBoy now realized who it was - it was the second-in-command of the scallion trio! How could he have forgotten?

"Y-you're not going anywhere!"

While the shorter scallion laughed before walking off, the taller of the two simply said, "I don't know about that. You look like you're in a bit of a pickle."

"...I'm a cucumber."  
"Oh, sorry. Anyway, have fun down there! See you next time, LarryBoy!"

A negative, twisting sensation in his chest was the reason for the costumed hero to struggle himself up; however, whatever this suffocating air surrounding him was causing nothing but trouble for him. He wheezed loudly whilst weakly blinking his eyes open.

Just as he thought...smoke! O-or a cloud. Wait, wait...it was fading away, but he still felt as though he was burning everywhere. Feeling his nose starting to run, he sniffled loudly but knew he still needed to try going after those guys…

...uh, where did they go?

...ah. Those rapscallions sure were getting better at being bad guys, weren't they.

LarryBoy, through red and puffy eyes, blinked several times in order to get the stinging to leave. "U-uh oh…" He coughed and coughed as he shakily searched for the communicator in his utility belt. "Mayor...gotta tell her…!"

At first, he wasn't sure he had pressed the correct button to contact her but was quickly assured upon hearing her voice on the other end. "LarryBoy?"

He coughed and sputtered, trying to tell her about the thief getting away. "H-he…" Wheeze. "He got awa-..." Wheeze. "I-I-I'm trying to say he got away-"

"L-LarryBoy, do you need assistance?"  
"Oh no, I-I'll be…"

He began coughing again, something which caused concern for the mayor.

"LarryBoy, please stay where you are! We'll send assistance, alright?"  
"N-no! The scallion's still out there…! I'll be fine…!"

Blackness enveloped his vision, causing him to gasp in panic. Darn it, he thought it was dying off, but apparently not! He was panicking on the inside about what to do, but on the outside, he felt himself pressing against a wall or building, coughing madly whilst burning tears poured. Blinking - he tried blinking as an attempt to see.

Worthless.

...welp, guess he really needed help out of this.

He sniffled loudly. Some hero he was…

Again, he sniffled while muttering, "Ow" over and over from the harsh pain everywhere. Oh how he wanted to go after those rapscallions now!

"What on earth…?"

LarryBoy froze up - well, somewhat thanks to that smoke or whatever messing with his nerves - as soon as he heard a male's voice not far from where he stood. To try and hide the embarrassment he felt that a civilian caught him like this, he beamed a heroic grin through shut reddened eyes. "Greetings, c-citizen!" Cough. "What…" Cough cough! "W-what seems to be the tr- _ouble_?"

There was silence for a split second but then LarryBoy heard the folk approach in a panic. "The trouble is that you've been pepper sprayed _badly_! We need to flush that out. Hold onto me and stay calm."

He didn't have much of a choice...plus he was hurting everywhere and could hardly speak without coughing as though ill. He could tell the helpful samaritan was close enough for him to lean against him, so he did just that. Within a minute, he was hurried further down the sidewalk for a few seconds. Although he couldn't see where they were headed, LarryBoy had an idea upon the familiar scent of hot chocolate and other comfort drinks surrounding him like a blanket. He heard murmurs and questions along the line of "Is he okay?" and "Is that LarryBoy?" LarryBoy felt his cheeks burn at that. Suddenly, the hurried movements stopped, and he was urged to stand in front of something.

"Do any of you have some more soap I could use? It's an emergency..." Pause. "...thank you." The samaritan was talking over their shoulder, if LarryBoy had to take a guess by how faded the voice seemed. "Sir," he was now talking to him, "I'm going to flush your eyes out with cold water for a bit. Once I'm through, I'll have to do it again with some soap. I've saline eye drops for once all of that's done."

"Well, okay. Th-thanks for all of t _HIS!_ " LarryBoy yelped when a large amount of cold water poured over his face.

This process of getting the painful substance out of his eyes and around the areas of his face which weren't fortunate enough to be shielded by his mask took quite a long time, which left the vigilante to his thoughts for the time being. Mayor Blueberry must've been worried sick about his condition...then again, she might be disappointed that he allowed the final crook to flee from his clutches. Speaking of running off, where did those two scallions scatter to? Perhaps their hide out...it would be pretty obvious.

He sighed. "I really messed up back there."

"How so?"  
"O-oh, ya heard me?"  
"Yes. I apologise…"

Weakly, LarryBoy chuckled. "Nah, it's okay. I was just sayin' that I didn't think they'd pull a fast one on me like that. Should've worn goggles."

"Oh, so you underestimated their capabilities? That's all right...we've all been there," he calmly assured him.

"Say, thanks for doing this by the way."  
"My pleasure!"

"No seriously," he insisted as he felt his head being tilted back by the other male, "I owe ya one, Mister…" LarryBoy paused. Whilst his eyes were carefully pulled open and he finally saw a white ceiling and fluorescent lights, he asked, "Uh, what's your name? The name's LarryBoy." Once more, he yelped upon a drip of eye drop being applied to each eye, but before he could make a comment about it, he finally saw the helpful civilian - a male asparagus - staring at him with a small smile. He was dressed rather formally and even donned a monocle over his right eye. Must've been heading somewhere before he found him.

"Glad to meet you. I am Alfred," Alfred introduced himself. "How do you feel, LarryBoy?"

"Well...my eyes still sting a little, but I can see better...and my throat's clear."  
"Good to know!"

LarryBoy almost jumped when he felt something vibrate in his utility belt. He shot an apologetic grin to Alfred. "One moment please." Knowing what it was, he whipped out his communicator and answered it. "Mayor?"

Mayor Blueberry's voice rung out, "LarryBoy! There you are! We were beginning to worry when you didn't answer! What happened?"

Oh boy.

"Well, to make a long story short, Mayor...I was pepper sprayed when I was close to getting him, and then he ran off with another scallion."  
"That's why you were like that the last time we talked! Are you alright? Do you need medical assistance still?"

Sure she couldn't see him shake his head, but he did it anyway. "Nah," he paused to beam a thankful smile at the asparagus beside him before telling the mayor, "Alfred here helped me out."

"Alfred?"  
"Nearby citizen. He patched me up good as new! A-anyway, Mayor...what should I do? Scallion's gone."

"I'll have a few officers search for him and his partner. As for you, you should rest."

LarryBoy's eyebrows raised questioningly. "You sure?"

"Of course! The effects are going to take a while to be rid of. Don't worry."  
"Well...whatever you say, Mayor Blueberry. Goodnight."

 ** _Click_**.

LarryBoy immediately let out a defeated sigh. "Given the leave. First time this ever happened. I guess I messed up badly, huh?"

Alfred butted in, "Chin up, LarryBoy...like I said, everyone makes mistakes."

"True."  
"I would have to agree with the mayor's words, anyway. The spray's been removed from your vision, but that doesn't guarantee that you won't have problems still functioning at your best. That would be a risky move if you went back out there."  
"True again."

Then Alfred asked something, "Do you need a lift?"

He blinked. "You're offering me a ride home?"

Alfred nodded, his smile not faltering at the least. "Of course. You might not want to move a lot after that."

LarryBoy only thought about the offer for a second before giving him a nod. "Guess I owe ya twice!"

* * *

"...whoa."  
"Are you that impressed?"

LarryBoy tilted his head at the sight before him. "Well, yeah. I didn't think you'd own a motorcycle...based on how you're dressed, anyway."

From the motorbike, Alfred gestured with his head for LarryBoy to hold aboard the sleek ride. Once he made certain that the silly-looking hero was on, he started the engine. "Where do you live?"

"Know that huge mansion down 33rd Street? If you drive straight from we are for a while, there's gonna be a pair of big gates. Should be open."  
"You live there? I guess I shouldn't be surprised…"

With that, the duo drove off into the late autumn night.

And that was how LarryBoy met Alfred.


	2. Signed, The Tech Whisperer

**_Click._**

As soon as the door to his mansion opened all the way, LarryBoy called out, "Honey, I'm home!"

Alfred, who had escorted him all the way, quirked a brow. "You're married?"

He paused. "...actually no, I'm not. I just like saying that whenever I get home."

The asparagus blinked. "Oh."

LarryBoy took a step inside whilst Alfred stayed outside. He turned to him. "Anyway, thanks again for doing all of this for me, Alfred. How 'bout we meet up tomorrow for a while? There's a fall fair happenin'. I'll treat ya there!"

Uncertain, Alfred questioned the costumed hero, "Are you sure? It's not really necessary."

"Nah, I insist!"  
"Well...alright."

This reply made LarryBoy grin. "Great! You know the park near town hall? That's where it'll be. Starts at twelve."  
"Twelve it is. Well, I hope you get your rest, LarryBoy. I'll see you tomorrow."

With a nod and smile to LarryBoy, Alfred began to walk away from the large residence, heading down the long winding pathway to where his motorcycle was parked, waiting for him to return.

LarryBoy called out, "See ya tomorrow, Alfred! Have a safe ride on your cool motorcycle!" He saw the tall asparagus hop onto his motorcycle, turn it on, and then speed off into the night within seconds. "Cool guy…" He whipped off his mask and sighed from feeling nice cool air hitting his once covered face. "Maybe I should leave early and apologize to Mayor Blueberry for letting that scallion slip away," Larry said to himself, "it'd be better than not saying anything…"

He yawned all of a sudden. Shoot, must be tired from earlier.

"But first...some sleep."

The town of Bumblyburg certainly was peaceful around this time, and due to it being autumn also assisted with the atmosphere. Alfred hardly had to stop at a red light, which made his trip back home shorter than expected. Alfred Asparagus lived alone in a cozy two-bedroom house at the end of town. Indeed, it was lonely at times being the only resident there; however, he had been used to it for many years.

He pulled up to the parkway and shut down the purring machine he was on.

Upon removing his helmet, the first words to come out of his mouth was, "I can't believe there's an actual superhero in this town - and I had a chance to _meet him_ nonetheless!"

Carefully, Alfred turned around in his seat. Wow, he could see LarryBoy's mansion from a distance thanks to that hill it sat on.

"A legitimate superhero though. How... _silly_."

* * *

 ** _Signed, The Tech Whisperer_**

* * *

Although the scallion thief was still running around out there, the "stay indoors" message spreading throughout town via television and radio was dropped since the other more important six were captured; however, civilians were _then_ informed to keep an eye out for him due to the apparent attack of an officer _and_ the town's local superhero.

...Anyway, the fall fair - "cleverly" titled "Bumblyburg's Annual Fall Festival at the Park" - commenced without worry. The carnival rides such as the ferris wheel, roller coaster, and merry-go-round went on as usual. Games - hopefully they weren't _rigged_ \- were set up and played by the citizens who came to this public event. Tons of pumpkins, crunchy red and brown leaves, and hayrides could be found here. Oh yeah, there was also the food to enjoy...such as the warm meat buns. Typical fall-related stuff went on, basically.

A loud yawn escaped from Larry, something which caught Junior's attention while mid-bite of his delicious meat bun. "You sleepy, Larry?"

Larry yawned again as he looked over at the kid beside him. "Kinda." The backpack he had slinging over himself began to slip, but he quickly used his shoulder to pull it back in place. Phew, close one. "Last night was somethin' else."

"Was it that 'Alf' marathon you were talking about, or those bad guys running around last night?"  
"...you could say that."

That was when a voice from far away suddenly called, "Hey Junior, wanna go on the roller coaster?"

The kid in question turned his head and then engulfed the rest of his food, nodding. "Coming, Laura!" Junior glanced to Larry, asking, "Are you ready to take on the rides?"

Apologetically, he shook his head. "Nah, not yet, Junior. I feel a bit queasy so I need to drop by home for a minute, but I'll meet up with you later on when the light shows start."

" 'kay, catch ya around!"  
"See ya!"

Larry kept an eye on the asparagus child until he was certain that he was with Laura Carrot. The two darted off to the line for the roller coaster - and with that, he hurried over to the entrance of the park with someone on his mind.

From behind a tree, Larry immediately whispered, "There he is."

Alfred, taking in the place, entered the park with his eyes going from area to area. His eyebrows suddenly knitted together in thought, probably wondering where he was supposed to find the costumed hero from hours prior to now...or he was confused.

Back and forth Larry's head went in order to check if anybody was watching him or not. This huge tree, thankfully, stood tall and wide enough to cover him as he placed his backpack on the ground and opened it up.

This was casual enough, right? A heavy brown sweater with a red scarf had to have screamed "fall" enough.

' _It shouldn't be this difficult to spot him out_ ,' Alfred thought as he continued scanning the park for him, ' _but then again, maybe he's trying not to stir attention what with him being a superhero and all. I doubt he'd come out of costume for a stranger..._ '

"Psst, Alfred...over here!"

A familiar voice was attempting to get his attention, which worked with complete success. Where it was coming from, though, didn't surprise him the bit. Behind the massive tree, the costumed man from last night had his head poking out, urging him to come over to where he hid from public eye.

Once turning his head around to make sure nobody saw him and became suspicious about what he was doing, he went over to him.

"Hey there, Alfred," he greeted the Brit with a natural smile. "Ready for some fun?"

"Are you…" he squinted his eyes at LarryBoy, questioning, "going to stay hidden from everyone else, or-"

"Nah, I just need to finish putting on my costume back here and then we'll start our outing. I'll be out in a sec."  
"O...kay."

He grunted once, twice, perhaps three times as, from behind the tree and away from Alfred's sight, he pulled up his flashy-coloured costume. "Hungry? We can get something to eat first."

Alfred, feeling awkward from hearing the grunts, turned his gaze away. "W-well, yes, actually. I was in a hurry earlier this morning, so I forgot to eat breakfast."

"Food it is then! Anyway, while I finish prepping myself up, tell me about yourself!"  
"Me?"  
"Yeah! You were dressed pretty fancy last night. Gotta be someone big and important, right?"

He smiled doubtfully as he adjusted his monocle. "Oh, no. I'm simply someone with a preference for that kind of clothing. There's nothing special about me."

"Hmm, could'a fooled me saying that. I thought you were cool with that motorcycle of yours."  
"Come now, it's only a motorbike…"  
"Which is _rad_."

Right after a loud click from behind the tree, LarryBoy suddenly yelped which caused Alfred to jump in surprise.

"What happened?!"  
"...I...may or may not have pinched myself while putting on my utility belt."  
"...oh."

"S-so," LarryBoy changed the subject due to embarrassment and trying to distract himself from that painful tweak, stepping out from behind the tree in his whole outfit, "ever had a Bumblyburg scone? They're extra filling…"

After hearing a satisfied hum beside him, LarryBoy looked over to Alfred who sat beside him in the hay pile, mouth full of a flaky jelly-filled scone. "How is it?"

Alfred, either because he was starting to unwind or because the cart they were in went over a bump, fell back into the straws with his mouth still savouring the dessert. The asparagus swallowed the bit in his mouth. "Just like home," he sighed out.

"Home?"  
"Britain."  
"Whoa. That's far from here."

"Indeed it is," Alfred responded, sitting up as well. "There are times when I miss it, but...I enjoy living here as well. Besides, leaving Bumblyburg would give me the same feeling of loss as I have now for Britain, so…" he trailed off and then decided to finish the rest of his food, for his mouth was beginning to salivate again.

"Yeah," he agreed, "I get what you mean about the moving thing."

Alfred glanced to him."Not from around here either?"

"Moved here from the mid-west when I got older." LarryBoy shrugged, smiling. "I miss home sometimes, but Bumblyburg's home to me even more than the place I was born in." He paused and then darted his eyes to his side. "That's okay to say, right? 'Cause, at least, people like me here."

Chewing on the final piece of his scone, the Brit turned to LarryBoy upon hearing that last sentence. How odd...did LarryBoy, when he wasn't in costume, not that well-liked back in the mid-west? What for? He seemed to be, although silly, a nice guy. Alfred, after swallowing his food, changed topic, "Oh! L-LarryBoy, I forgot to ask about your eyes. How are they?"

He brightened up, looking to Alfred. "A whole lot better thanks to you. You were a lot of help!"  
"Glad to be of service-"

All of a sudden, LarryBoy felt his communicator vibrate on his utility belt. He whipped the device out and pressed the answer button. "Yes Mayor?"

"LarryBoy," Mayor Blueberry told him with a sense of urgency in her voice, "that jewelry store from yesterday has been robbed and there have been sightings of the scallion and his accomplices fleeing the area!"

He frowned, brows immediately furrowing. "Again? They must really like that place to try a third time within a week…" Sure it might be seen as dangerous to do so, but still, the vigilante stood and listened on for any other detail.

Alfred worriedly looked to him and then out to the streets as the wagon made a turn. "Oh dear…"

The mayor went on, informing, "They're approaching the corner of 23rd street as we speak-"

Alfred interrupted upon realisation, "That's the corner _we're_ on!"

This grabbed LarryBoy's attention, making him perk up, alert. "Really?" His eyes spotted the street sign. It read the exact number which the mayor told him. "Perfect!" Hurriedly, he said into the communicator, "Don't worry, I've got 'em this time. I won't let you down, Mayor!" He turned to Alfred with an apologetic grin. "We're gonna have to end this a bit sooner than expected."

"Q-quite alright," he assured him. "It just occurred to me that I need to visit someone."

"Convenient. See ya, Alfred! Hope we see each other in the future!"

"Oh, um, I will. Do be careful out there!"

As the wagon came to a halt upon approaching a stop light, the costumed hero tilted his head to one side to aim and fire his unusual weapon into the air. The plunger grappled immediately onto an upcoming business building whose form was rather enormous. As LarryBoy was launched upwards, the hay around him briefly flew into the air as he did so. What a _mess_.

Up, up into the air went LarryBoy, departing Alfred, the wagon, and the surprised cart-driver. He needed to get a good hiding spot to jump the rapscallions without fail.

He was prepared _this time_.

For the moment, Alfred would ignore the pesky hay which landed on him, for he was much more absorbed with what he had witness. The Brit might not be able to see the action which could take place any minute, but still, he was fascinated at the simple sight he saw. "So _that's_ how he gets around…" he murmured out loud.

A gentle cough from the front grabbed Alfred's attention. He turned to see the - well, he _looked_ like it - shy gourd staring at him, uncertain about what to do. "...was he coming back?"

Probably not.

* * *

Phew, that was rather easy. The shop's owner had decided to open the store later today, which allowed the three scallions to sneakily break in and out within a matter of minutes, just as the cops were informed of the break-in. Now they managed to get this far from the scene of the crime - hopefully without being spotted. So, what was left? Well, now the trio had to cross the street from the alleyway they hid in. After they made the dash, it would be home free with their recently acquired goods in tow.

"See? I told you it was worth it!"  
"You're lucky that we managed to get you out of there, dummy."  
"...don't tell me you're _still_ peeved that I lost your eye-shadow."

The tallest of the scallion trio huffed at that, something which the shortest one inferred it as a firm "yes, yes I am".

" _Seriously?_ That happened a month ago!"  
"It was my favourite shade! Do you know how long it took me to get that!"  
"But it's _eye-shadow_ -"

As the reunion in the form of a squabble advanced even further, the middle scallion ignored the two and continued his watch of the street across from them. Traffic was light with the three or four cars casually going by - none of those cars, so far, have been cop cars.

He perked. "Guys." When he knew he got their attention, he turned his head and told them, "We should try going now. Low traffic, no cops in sight. Sound good?"

"Grand," the tallest spoke up in reply. "No screwing up today, understood gentlemen?"

The other two nodded.  
" 'Kay."  
"Won't do it again, Boss."

The tallest of the trio, also known as Boss Scallion, took center and gestured the two to follow him well. Sneakily, Boss Scallion slipped out of the alley, followed by the second and third rapscallion. In perfect unison, they darted behind the cars which stopped at the red-light. They ducked low enough so they wouldn't be spotted in any of the driver's rear mirror and did it well, since they've done it many times prior to this day.

Almost there...

The middle scallion whispered out, "Psst, Boss! Cover your bags."

Boss turned to him. "Why?"

 _Fwip!_ The two bags he carried were snatched out of thin air, causing him to gasp in shock whilst the cars drove off down the street. In his stomach, he had a bloody idea what happened to his jewelry. As he spun around to face the pest, the jewelry bags were yanked from his accomplices in rapid speed. The trio looked up…

...and there was LarryBoy staring down at them from atop a roof. "Afternoon, gentlemen!"

The boss tsked. "You took our possessions rather quick, LarryBoy. Could we have them back?"

The costumed hero cocked a brow. "I doubt this stuff belongs to you and your buds, Scallion Boss. This belongs to Shimmering Treasures and its owner. Anyway," he questioned, "you guys wanna give up or are you gonna start running again?"

He felt his two companions turning, staring at him; however, he attempted to keep his cool rather than crumbling into submission. "I'm certain you know the answer already," the boss simply told him.

LarryBoy heard the faint cries of the police cars, because of that, he knew he needed to take action now before the trio ran away once again.

A scene such as this has happened plenty of times before in the year which he began his superhero work, so he knew that the longer he and the crooks stared at each other, prepared to make the first move which determined the outcome of everything else.

 _Twitch, twitch_. The nerves of both side jerked.

He made a leap down to them just as Boss Scallion yelled out, "You'd better hope you won't cough too much!"

It was as though time slowed down for his sake. LarryBoy was right over them when the second scallion whipped out a tiny metal ball and tossed the item directly at him. He already had a solution to this minor obstacle thanks to the boss' hint of what was being hurled. Using his cape, he made a mad upside swipe at it and then quickly covered his face.

Time returned to normal.

Immediately, there was a loud pop, followed by an equally loud hiss and yelps and cries of the three scallions.

Once LarryBoy landed with his protective mask on, he lowered his cape to inspect the damage. Try as they might, the second and third scallion couldn't open their eyes even as the haze faded; meanwhile, Boss coughed and coughed and managed to merely have a single eye half open. It looked as though he was trying to say something…

...well, actually, _do_ something…

...which he did.

In a rather bold move, Boss Scallion sucked in some air and then flung himself towards LarryBoy; however, instead of crashing into him, Boss swiped something across the hero's face, earning a yelped "ow!" LarryBoy, through the burning pain on his cheek, forced himself to recover quickly by turning and shooting one of his head-plungers, capturing the boss before he could get any further. For good measure, he shot the other plunger and caught the other two. Hey, just because they still had a difficult time seeing doesn't mean they wouldn't try to run.

When the three police cars arrived at the scene, the officers found the three scallions tied together with some rope, plopped on the ground in a sitting position. Feet away from them sat six bags which, upon opening them, contained the stolen jewels from Shimmering Treasures.

" _Well_ , well, well, we meet again so _soon_ , scallion," Officer Scooter said as stepped forward to the trio whilst the other officers began putting the bags into their cars. "Y'got me last time, but I'll be darned if you'll pull that trick on me again while you're locked up!"

The third scallion immediately grumbled, "Yeah yeah…"

Meanwhile, the second scallion glanced to his boss. "Maybe we'll be let out sooner on good behavior."

Boss Scallion sighed, eyes half-lid in annoyance. "Let's hope so."

* * *

"Ow ow ow ow ow…" LarryBoy successfully slipped into a public restroom in order to check the damage which Boss Scallion inflicted. At the moment, he was carefully peeling his mask off, high enough to see the cut. Wow, would he have thought he would bleed on the job, but...here he was. Yikes, it was a nasty cut, but Larry knew it could've been far worse had the boss dug that - whatever he used - any further.

He squinted his eyes and forced himself closer to the mirror to further examine the injury. _Shoot_ , it's gaping. Larry reached over to grab a paper towel. Once he soaked the brown paper with cold water, he dabbed at the wound. "I should see a doctor about this…" he said to himself, "just in case."

He tossed the used paper towel into the bin, tugging his mask back into place.

LarryBoy looked at his reflection and then beamed, puffing his chest out. "The day is saved, at least! Maybe I'll have enough time to ride the roller coaster if I see the doctor right away."

Dashing out of the bathroom for a running start, LarryBoy shot one of his head weapons to a nearby building and launched himself higher and higher off the ground. From above, he could hear an occasional exclamation of "Look!" or "It's LarryBoy!" LarryBoy couldn't help but nod down to them whenever he heard them taking notice of his presence. _Gosh_ , it was a wonderful feeling. The view of the city as he swung from building to building felt wonderful as well, now that he thought about it; although, it appeared even cooler at night and around Christmas.

However, there was a bit of an issue transporting this way. "Ow..." He cringed when the cool air whipped his injured cheek. Should've covered it with something while he was in the bathroom.

Down below, at the annual fair, Junior and Laura had finished their third round on the roller coaster and had decided to take a snack break. As Junior stuffed another portion of cotton candy into his mouth at the picnic table, he suddenly noticed a familiar being swinging from building to building feet away from them.

"LarryBoy?"

Hearing the superhero's name caused Laura to pause her eating as well. "Where?" Laura instinctively turned her head around and saw the sight as well. She exclaimed, "It _is_ him!"

Seconds later, the hero went by the park and continued onward.

Alfred adjusted himself on the motorbike which was parked at the park entrance just as he felt something coming this way. He blinked, glanced right and left and then chose to look behind him. There was LarryBoy, happily making his way downtown with the help of his silly choice of "weapon". When LarryBoy swung closer to the area he was in, the two made eye contact. A smile crossed his masked face, continuing on his way to wherever.

"Looks like he's accomplished his mission." He wrapped the scarf around him tighter in order to make certain it wouldn't fly off during the ride or get in his face.

Once he was fully set, Alfred departed.

* * *

"Thank you again for getting that trio, LarryBoy. You did it so _well_!"

"It was nothin', Mayor," Larry chuckled out with a half-smile since a whole one would hurt his stitched cheek. "Sorry it took a whole day to catch that smaller one, though."

Mayor Blueberry quickly waved it off, saying, " _Nonsense_! You caught him regardless! Anyway," she then changed the topic, turning it into a casual one, "are you alright? You sound a bit muffled."

He glanced to his cheek for a moment and then back to his television. "I bit my cheek."

"Oh...sounds painful."

"Don't worry though. It's just a lil' swollen. I'll be fine later." Larry reclined into the sofa, warming himself up in a blanket even though he tossed on a sweatshirt. He just needed to relax, even if it was just a few hours before the fireworks show. "...say, Mayor?" He shifted in his seat. "I have a question."

Curiously, she responded, "Yes?"

"...y'know in comic books how...um...certain superheros have more than one way to be contacted?"  
"Why, yes?"  
"Well, I just thought of something...maybe we should have something else you could use to call me if I'm not near my phone...especially since the cord is pretty short as it is."

On cue, the stretched-to-its-near-limits phone cord made a weak creak, a sound which made Larry quickly rise from the couch and stand closer to the phone's cradle.

"Good idea. Any suggestions?"  
"A spotlight in the sky?"  
"Ooh, so a beacon signal! I'll try getting that done-"  
"Actually, Mayor…"

The mayor slowly opened the door to her building's roof and stepped out, her large mobile phone with her. At first, she had seen nothing out of the ordinary, but when Blueberry stepped further out, she paused at something which now seemed out of place.

One of the four spotlights the building owned had a suspicious-looking tarp on top of it.

Immediately, she inquired into her phone, "How did you…?"

"A few days ago," he simply replied.

She hummed in thought, quirked brow as well as she tugged off the tarp. The other brow instantly went up.

"It took me awhile to get the stencil on right," sheepishly the hero explained to her over the phone. "What d'ya think, Mayor?"

"So, this is the…LarryBoy Signal."  
"Wow, you already knew the name I gave it!"

Mayor Blueberry laughed lightly. "It was a simple guess, dear LarryBoy. I'll be sure to get one installed for the police then...if you haven't gotten to them already."

"I had planned to yesterday night but ya know…"  
"True, true. Well, I should be going. I'm checking up on the fair across from here. Perhaps you could try dropping by there whenever you can if not today. _Thank you_ once more for capturing the thieves."

LarryBoy laughed embarrassingly. "Shucks, Mayor, that's what heroes are supposed to do! Have fun at the fair!"

The two managed to hang up in close unison.

Mayor Blueberry stepped out of the elevator, humming a tume to herself. Once fixing her glasses, she went over to the source of loud tapping - a receptionist desk - and checked on the receptionist, an asparagus lady, herself. "I'll be visiting the fair across from here. I know your shift will be over in a hour, but would you like for me to send over a caramel apple, meat bun, or any other fair treats?"

She smiled sincerely, shaking her head as she answered, "No thank you, Mayor, but thanks for the offer. My family and I are going to eat as soon as I get there."

"Well, alright! Be sure to jot down any important calls for me while I'm gone, you know the drill."  
"Yes, madame."

With a nod at her, Mayor Blueberry departed from the building, leaving the receptionist to her work at the blocky computer.

...how she's typing at her computer since she - and everybody else - lacks hands is beyond me, to be honest.

So, for the next few minutes, she typed away at the computer, checking everything which needed an update or a review. Her eyes only focused on the black screen in front of her as she hummed along with a song in her mind.

A small box blinked for a split second at the upper left-hand corner.

"Hm?" She paused, blinked. What was that?

The receptionist stared at the screen's corner to see if the action would occur again. Four seconds she waited and soon shrugged it off and resumed her work. Minute by minute, she could feel the end of her shift arriving and, honestly, she couldn't wait. She could smell the delicious funnel cake all the way across the street.

A small box blinked for a split second at the upper left-hand corner.

She turned her head to the corner, feeling as though that weird box was present again.

Nope, nothing.

She returned to her business.

Something blinked on another section of the screen, but she tried to ignore it, for she felt as though this was merely her mind tricking her. She reached over to the right and flipped the radio on, instantly greeted by Phil Collins' voice.

"Ahh..." She turned back to her computer.

There was a new line of words, words which she didn't put in which read:

 _Please do not panic! I am passing through. :-) - Signed, The Tech Whisperer._

She blinked with a raised eyebrow. "What…?"

Mayor Blueberry had gotten off the merry-go-round with a caramel apple in her possession when she spotted her receptionist approach her. Smiling, she greeted her. "Well, there you are! How did the last minute work go?"

She made an uncertain smile back, responding appropriately, "Yes-"

"Splendid!"  
"But…"  
" 'But' what?"

She briefly averted the questioning gaze, but then the receptionist gave in and forced her eyes back to the mayor. "It's just...a strange message popped up before I came over here." She pressed on, saying, "Something about a 'Tech Whisperer' passing through."

Mayor Blueberry quirked a brow, intrigued. "How unusual. Did it harm the computer or cause any sort of malice action?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Nothing to worry about then! Now, go ahead and meet up with your family! Have fun!"  
"I will. Thank you, Mayor."

* * *

"And finally, the last escapee from Bumbyburg Jail last night was returned early this afternoon along with two accomplices."

Alfred listened onto the last minutes of the news report at the bar counter whilst finally removing his scarf.

"Once again," the female leek reporter stated, "LarryBoy, the costumed hero who's been assisting the town for a year now, successfully caught the trio just as they nearly got away. Meanwhile, Shimmering Treasures, the store which was hit by the group, is quickly recovering from the robbery and should be open later next week.

According to officials, the recently installed security system became disabled just before the scallion trio waltzed in and took as much as they could. Aforementioned officials do not believe they were the cause of the security system's sudden shut down."

A drink was placed before Alfred by the bartender, whom he bowed his head as a mean to silently thank him for the beverage.

"As a side note, Bumblyburg's Annual Fall Festival is about to begin its fireworks show, so stick around channel 13 if you want to see for yourself. And that's the BLN evening news." She made a pleasant smile at the camera. "This is Esther Leek, signing off. Good night."

Alfred drank away the warm drink, feeling himself becoming more relaxed by the second upon it hitting his stomach. He sighed through his nose, pleased by the sensation.

"Alfie! _There_ ya are, babe! What's the four-one-one!"

Well, so much for the atmosphere being relatively quiet and peaceful.

There was a grunt to the left of him as he chose to now down his drink in order to greet the semi-loud one. Alfred sat the empty glass down with a sigh, saying, "Hello to you too, Montgomery. When did you start speaking like that?"

Montgomery, a persimmon, chuckled lightly as he removed his sunglasses, placing them in front of himself. "For a while now. It's just that I knew you'd get annoyed by it."

"W-well, no, I wouldn't do that, it's only a shock to hear you using slang…"  
"Well it _is_ the 80s for a little while more. I want to use it before it's out of style!"

Alfred hummed.

"Anyway," Montgomery allowed for his fake accent to slip from American to his actual British one, inquiring, "how you've been, love? Haven't spoken in a bit since I've been out of town."

"Fine," Alfred simply responded with. "You?"

"Ki-i-i-i-inda busy." The persimmon shrugged. "It wasn't the same without you being with me...kinda boring, in fact... _but_! It's all over now." Montgomery grinned to him, beaming. "Got here a few days ago, slept in the whole time, and as soon as I was recharged, came a-a-a-all the way to find you. Had a feelin' you'd be here."

It was now Alfred's turn to laugh, though gently since he was in public. "You know me well, Montgomery."

As he watched the asparagus gesture the bartender back to him, Montgomery leaned back against the stool's head and then spoke up, "So, you know that superhero with the plungers who's getting big here?"

He blinked, turning to him. "LarryBoy? What about him?"

"How strong is he?"  
"What…?"  
"Does he have any other weapons I should know about, or-"  
"Why are you asking me these things?"

"You know why, baby," he nonchalantly responded as he picked up a menu resting beside him. "I wouldn't mind having a go at him."

Alfred rolled his eyes at that. "Montgomery, _no_."

He frowned. "Aw, come on. Wouldn't it be fun to see me and LarryBoy going at it?"

"And get hurt in the process?"  
"I would _not_."  
"That's what you said the last time you tried fighting a superhero."  
"That bloke called you a name though! I was defending your honour!"

"I can assure you," Alfred said, "all he did was call me 'gentleman' in a sarcastic tone. I can tell LarryBoy isn't like any of the ones we've had the misfortune of coming across. Leave him be."

"You're not very fun," he grumbled feebly, his eyes going downcast. Suddenly, he shot his eyes back to Alfred and practically inflating in his seat. "Say, it's been a while, but how about the two of us rent a room tonight and play Twister?" Montgomery paused. "...you know, maybe Twister wouldn't work that well since the lack of arms and legs, but...we could play _other_ games!"

As soon as his new drink was placed down, Alfred reached for it and guzzled the carbonated thing within seconds. Montgomery took that as a simple "no".

Montgomery tilted his head at him. "So…LarryBoy...you said you 'could tell' that he's probably nice. What, did you meet him by chance or something?"

He sat the empty glass down once again. "Twice, yes. I assisted him last night after his eyes were assaulted by spray," he explained, "and then today, I spent some time with him before he needed to leave." Alfred's eyes softened all of a sudden. "He's so silly, though. In _every_ aspect, he is _silly_. His costume, the colour choice for them, his childlike personality… _everything_."

His brows raised at Alfred, taking notice of how quiet his voice became near the end. "Good heavens, you seem rather fascinated by him easily. You're acting as though he used his 'grappling hook' on your heart."

Alfred huffed. "Such a way to put it. Anyway," he announced, rising from his seat as he rested the accurate amount of money (plus tip) on the counter, "I shall be going now. We're still meeting for tomorrow, right?"

"Yep, my place at eleven for some brunch and then we'll talk."  
"I'll see you then, Montgomery."

Alfred turned and began his stroll out of the restaurant-

"BYE, BABY~!"

Run, began his _run_ out of the restaurant from embarrassment...that, and he could feel stares piercing his back upon "baby" being thrown at him by another male. Darn that Montgomery trying to make him the centre of attention!

As he wrapped himself again with the warmth of his scarf, Alfred finally made it outside and was cheerfully greeted by fireworks going off in the autumn night air. For a moment, he stood there and watched the beautiful display of lights blast and vanish with their various colours and patterns. He never had a chance to see this back at home due to being busy and whatnot, so this sight was a bit special for him.

That realisation caused his shoulders to slump and his gaze to soften.

"I've certainly missed out on things like this…" he commented, "but better late than never."

He hopped on his motorbike, and off he went.

* * *

"So how's your job at the fair comin' along, Jerry?" The gourd at the computer, phone cradled against himself in order to multitask while having a chat. "Uh-huh…that LarryBoy fella was riding in one of them until he took off?" He listened to Jerry's reply and then huffed, "Yeah I'd be surprised too if a superhero launched themselves outta the wagon I was driving!"

The gourd leaned back in his office chair, both now half-lid eyes on the screen in front of him. "Wanna trade side jobs? This one's kinda boring. It's always 'Jimmy, you've gotta type this many codes!' 'Jimmy, you've gotta make sure the codes are the right ones or else they won't work correctly!' 'Keep your eyes on the screen when you're typing codes, Jimmy!' " Once again, a huff came from Jimmy. "I-I don't even see the appeal of these boring formulas or whatever they are. What are they trying to make, a super computer program or something? They didn't bother to tell say what I'm actually doing and it's suspicious if ya _ask_ ** _me_** -!"

He paused as his eyes opened back to normal.

"...uh, y'know what I said just a second ago, Jerry? I think I was kinda on the right track…"

 _Do not be alarmed. I am just checking out what your company has. I will be through in a minute. Thanks for your patience. :-) - Signed, The Tech Whisperer._

* * *

 ** _To be continued_**


End file.
